


Pull Together

by CupidStrikes



Series: Keith Week 2016 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Gen, Keith Week 2016, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 09:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8157149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupidStrikes/pseuds/CupidStrikes
Summary: Keith presses his face into his knees and when his breaths echo raggedly off the castle walls he wonders if he's having a panic attack.





	

**Author's Note:**

> September 28th: Angst | Red / Blood
> 
> Italics are from Pull Myself Together by The Rocket Summer.
> 
> The idea for this came easy but the writing came hard, oddly. Let me know if you liked it! I am weak for your comments and kudos <3.

 

 

 

_ I once was lost, then I was found _

_ I wanna make things better the second time around. _

  
  


“What happened?”

  
  


Allura's voice is calm and all business, even as she is helping Hunk carry Shiro out of the Green Lion and onto a floating stretcher. He's barely conscious, has been since they had escaped the Galra space station, but Keith hears him grunt in pain and the sound reverberates in his skull despite Shiro's attempts to muffle it. Shiro always attempts to hide his pain. If it's a habit he picked up during his time in captivity, or because he feels that as their leader he must be infallible, Keith doesn't know. What he does know is that he hates those noises, and the way Shiro's face is scrunched up when he gets a look over Allura's shoulder.

  
  


Keith can hear Lance and Pidge on the edge of his consciousness. Pidge runs ahead to get a healing pod ready, and Keith hears Lance babbling about cleaning up and Keith almost snaps at him, has turned his head and opened his mouth to do so -

 

\- and then shuts it abruptly when he notices, as if for the first time, how much blood – how much of Shiro's blood – is splattered everywhere. He remembers his foot slipping as they climbed out of the Green Lion's cockpit, and Pidge cursing that the touch screens on her dashboard didn't work so well when they were dirty, but the memory seems vague and fuzzy, almost as if it had been compromised by time, or hadn't ever happened at all.

  
  


“I...” Keith's mind belatedly catches up with Allura's question, and he shuts his mouth firmly when the Princess glances his way. There is a smear of red of her cheek. Its shape stays in Keith's vision even after she has turned away, like a phosphene.

  
  


Keith hurries up after her and he reaches to help settle Shiro into the pod, but his hands are shaking, and when Hunk places his open palms on top of them it feels like a slap in the face. He swallows and looks past Hunk as the pod seals up, and the room sounds silent now that Shiro's harsh breaths and grunts are absent. Keith feels eyes on him, and he looks up to meet them defiantly, but falters when he sees the looks the others are giving him, ranging from annoyance from Allura, to something that is a little too close to worry in Hunk's face for Keith's liking.

  
  


“What happened?” Allura repeats, folding her arms over her chest. A lock of her hair is red with blood and something about that more than anything else is Keith's undoing.

  
  


“I fucked up.”

 

He's proud for a second at how his voice wavers only on the first syllable, but it's gone the instant after and Keith stares off at a crack in one of the flagstones.  
  


“I.....fucked up,”

 

“Repeating it does not constitute an explanation,”

 

Keith pinched his lips together and took a deep breath in through his nose, tried to focus on one of those exercises Shiro had taught him back when they had both been students, before Kerberos, the disappearance and -blood,blood,blood- He closes his eyes abruptly, tries again.

  
  


“It's my fault.”

  
  


Keith feels Pidge’s hand on his shoulder, and he can feel the way her fingers are shaking faintly even through his armour. It's nothing like when Shiro does it and that thought alone makes him shift and duck out of the hold. 

 

“It doesn't matter whose fault it is,” Coran now, his voice so cheerful and upbeat that Keith feels it like a physical pain, “Just so’s we can improve for next time “

  
  


Keith wants to scream. Or cry. Or both. Both was good. 

 

“What are you talking about?  “ he cards a hand through his hair - when did he remove his helmet?  Keith doesn't remember. Maybe it's in the Green Lion, maybe he straight up left it in the Galra space station - and he paces back and forth, just a few steps, but it makes Pidge take a step back. She splays her hands in front of her,  as if trying to placate a wild animal. Part of Keith recognises the gesture as a sign that he is showing too much, but in that moment he doesn't care.

  
  


“There won't be a next time.”

  
  


And before Coran can question exactly what that means, Keith does the only sensible thing - the only safe option in that moment - and walks off. As he leaves the room he hears Allura’s voice,  softer now, 

 

“Sometimes the aftermath of a hard battle can compromise the short term memory…”

  
  


Keith snarls and punches the nearest wall, the space marble hard and unyielding and Keith realises then that he's taken off his gloves as well, and when his hand falls to his side there is bloody smear on the white wall. The blood in Allura's hair-

  
  


It's not that Keith can't remember, because he can see what happened with a startling clarity as if watching a pre-recorded video. Pidge and Hunk and Lance had seen most of it, and he was sure they could fill in the gaps. 

  
  


He stops walking when he finds himself on one of the observation decks. It had been Shiro's favourite place to come when he needed some quiet to clear his head. Keith flops down onto one of the comfy sofas there and when his armour digs into his skin he shucks it off and lets it fall to the ground. 

  
  


Tucking his legs up to his chest, Keith presses his face into his knees and when his breaths echo raggedly off the walls he wonders if he's having a panic attack. Something wet falls into the back of his right hand and Keith squeezes his eyes tightly shut until he can see bursts of light against the backs of his eyelids. 

 

* * *

 

He sees it as if in slow motion.

 

The Galra space station isn't as empty as they had thought, but Keith runs towards the approaching soldiers instead of away. It had been going well; the robots falling quickly and barely landing any hits on him.

 

Then the Galra themselves appear.

 

There is a group – a commander and grunts, more than they've faced head on before. They're distracted – surprised by the carnage waiting for them, and Keith takes that opening.

 

He kills two of the grunts with ease, then stumbles when the commander grabs his sword. Keith looks up and tries to yank it free, but the Galra is stronger, and Keith is faintly aware of his Bayard being ripped out of his hand as something knocks him sideways and he sees the world in double when his head collides with the metal wall, the helmet doing little to cushion the blow. He scrambles to his feet as the floor lurches beneath him, and he supposes it's too easy when a hand too large to be human closes around his throat and forces him to stay on his knees. 

 

Keith is dimly aware of someone calling his name, but he can't locate the direction of the sound and every movement of his head sends waves of pain and nausea through him. He's not sure if he blacks out or not, but the next thing he is aware of is the hands on his neck and holding his wrists together (and when did those even get there?) are wrenched off and Keith is nearly knocked flat with the force of it. He forces his sight up to a flurry of purple light and  _ Shiro _ . Keith might be yelling his name, he's not sure, and he braces himself against the wall as he digs his toes into the ground as he rises in one shaking motion. His hands have been bound behind his back and his vision is blurring at the edges, but he forces himself towards the fight. There must be something - 

 

He doesn't see the first blow land, but he hears the second. The sound of bones breaking sets his teeth on edge and he focuses in time to hear Shiro scream and watch him double over as blood stains the white parts of his suit. Keith knows for sure that he is yelling now, and he staggers towards them, fighting with whatever's holding his wrists, and he snarls at the Galra when it looks at him.

 

Keith lets it advance, bracing himself for a hit that never lands. He opens one eye slowly and watches as the Galra crumples to the ground in front of him. Shiro smiles grimly at him over the corpse, his human hand still curled around his middle as he approaches. He reaches behind Keith and Keith feels an intense heat by his fingers as Shiro slices through the metal cuffs. 

 

He reaches for Shiro immediately. His fingers skirt neutral territory at first, shoulders, upper arms, his chest, and then Shiro slumps against him and Keith is aware of the voices of the other Paladins in his head as he screams for help and Shiro is pale, so pale, and Keith can't tell if he's still breathing with how hard his hands are trembling or the numb, not-quite-there feeling that has come over him.

 

It's Hunk that reaches them first, and Keith allows the Yellow Paladin to take Shiro out of his arms. Someone helps him to his feet and Keith glances in their direction just once to establish that it is Lance before he turns his attention back to Shiro and follows silently as they make their way back to the Green Lion. 

 

Pidge is there already and has a space waiting for Shiro, along with some of the emergency medical supplies Coran had found for them. Keith isn't sure what she does, but Shiro looks a little less....dead...when they take off. Pidge flies carefully, mindful of her unsecured cargo, but Keith finds himself twitching and fidgeting as he can tell they're not flying nearly fast enough and- 

 

\- and Hunk lays a hand on Keith's shoulder and squeezes -

 

“You okay dude?”

 

Keith jumps and jerks out of the grip as he is drawn out of his flashback.

 

“I-”

 

Hunk holds his hands up. Nods to the space next to Keith on the sofa.

 

“Mind if I sit there?”

 

“Uh....no?”

 

Keith slowly straightens up again and watches as Hunk sits down on the other cushion leaving about a foot between them.

 

“What happened in there-”

 

“I know, I know it's my fault.”

 

Hunk is frowning at him and Keith looks away again, letting his hands fall between his knees.

 

“We know, Keith.”

 

That makes him start, and he whips his head back towards Hunk, scowling.

 

“What? Wha....you weren't there, don't be ridiculous-”

 

“Okay, okay, maybe it's a little your fault. That better? But seriously, Keith, dude, don't run off like that. You had us worried.”

 

Keith snorts before he can stop himself, and he's surprised when he feels that hand on his shoulder again. He lets it stay this time, and when he notices Hunk creep closer he doesn't protest.

 

“Why?”

 

He winces at how accusing his voice sounds, but he can't get his tongue around an apology, and Keith feels sick to the pit of his stomach for it.

 

“Why anything,” Hunk shrugs, smiles at Keith with such ease and sincerity that Keith would have thought this some sort of joke or set up if it had been anyone else.

 

“Sure that was pretty stupid but, y'know, Shiro ran right in after you.”

 

Keith feels his expression twist at the mention of Shiro but Hunk presses on.

 

“He'll be fine. Pidge said he only passed out because one of the Galra had a poison-tipped weapon, well, that and the blood loss, but aside a couple of broken ribs it was all pretty superficial.”

 

Hunk pats his shoulder. Keith almost scoffs at the lies in his words, but he forces his mouth to stay shut, knowing that he has no right to ruin Hunk's attempt to make him feel better after he had fucked up so exponentially. He settles for shaking his head.

 

“Okay, Keith, I didn't want to have to do this, er, but I'm gonna hug you right now. Uhm, if you don't mind, that it.”

 

Keith feels him move but doesn't look up.

 

“Do whatever you want.”

 

“Okie dokie then,”

 

Keith almost misses Hunk's muttering to himself when suddenly warm arms have wrapped around him and are bringing him against Hunk's chest. He lets it happen, closing his eyes and allowing his head to loll back against the other man's shoulder. 

 

“We still love you, Keith,”

 

The tremors begin afresh, but if Hunk feels them he doesn't say anything, just settles them against the sofa more comfortably and tightens his hold.

 

Well, if Hunk is going to insist then Keith doesn't see the point in denying him.

 

“You should go see Coran, or hop in a pod for a bit. You're still bleeding.”

 

Keith grumbles, opening one eye a sliver and reluctantly trying to pull away. Hunk allows it, only just, and he rises with Keith, one arm remaining around his shoulders and Keith realises that he means to come with.

 

“Ah...”

 

“No?”

 

Hunk smiles and makes to take his arm back, but it takes only a flicker of thought and Keith puts his hand over Hunk's wrist.

 

“It's fine.”

 

He nods stiffly and looks up into Hunk's face. The Yellow Paladin smiles back at him, warm and open despite all that has happened. Keith feels himself return it just a little bit and he lets Hunk lead him back to the pod chamber where the rest of the team is waiting.

 

Lance takes over from Hunk and Pidge is already programming the pod beside Shiro's as he is lead over to it. Keith allows Lance to help him into it, suddenly feeling very sore and tired as the adrenaline wears off.

 

The last thing Keith sees before he falls under is Allura smiling as she checks the pod setting compulsively before she turns to Hunk.

 

“What happened?

 

_ And I know I'm a little bit late _

_ but please don't hate, hate me. _

  
  
  
  


 


End file.
